The Frontier Rural “mentality is marked by an emphasis on independence and self-reliance, while at the same time substantial value is placed on community and connectedness to others. The unique focus on taking care of oneself, and at the same time taking care of community members within a close-knit environment, was clear in the themes that emerged …” (Urruty, 2011, 92-93); Purity’s conclusion relates to the study of first generation college students from frontier communities.

The values of self-reliance, resilience, community connectedness, and living simply are themes of Frontier Rural (or Remote) areas. Students exhibit such behaviors – sometimes in productive ways to enhance their education. Chadron State College (CSC) staff and faculty expressed the connectedness value in the February 2016 survey – to people they work with and CSC or the Chadron area.

In April three bookstore vendors conducted presentations. All three companies offer options to purchase new texts, used texts, and eTextbooks as well as rental of texts. MBS (www.mbsbooks.com/) will begin ramping up services for the fall 2016 semester. Reeves Incorporated will operate a retail outlet within the Student Center.

Scholarly Talks and Presentations AY 2016-17

The Library Learning Commons and Teaching & Learning Center are seeking faculty speakers for next year’s Graves Lecture Series and TLC Seminars. The Graves Lecture Series format is flexible and has featured a variety of formal and informal presentations that appeal to college and community audiences alike – from scholarly talks to musical performances. For more information about the Series and how to participate, contact the LLC’s Outreach Librarian, Shawn Hartman (shartman@csc.edu or 308.432.6271); to view previous lectures, visit: http://academic.csc.edu/llc/blog/?page_id=50. Faculty who are interested in sharing their scholarly and professional endeavors with fellow faculty (and staff) should contact the TLC Instructional Design Specialist, Elizabeth Ledbetter (eledbetter@csc.edu or 308.432.6275); to find out more about the TLC Seminars, visit: http://csc.edu/tlc/workshops/.

Graduate Office

Starting on May 2, the Director of Records will supervise the project coordinators within the Graduate Office on a day-to-day basis. The Graduate Dean will continue to offer significant input on the overall operation of the Graduate Office. While the Graduate Dean will continue to be involved in the annual evaluation of the project coordinators, the Director of Records will be the primary evaluator.

Education Program 2014-15 Title II Report for Education Program

Every year the CSC Education Department must complete the Title II report for the U.S. Department of Education. This information serves as our “report card” for the Higher Education Act. All CSC students who have been officially admitted into the Education program are included in this report. To be admitted they must have completed all their course prerequisites, passed the Praxis CORE test, and met the GPA requirements. We also report specific information on program completers for each academic year. For the 2014-15 AY, 244 students were enrolled in the Education Program. Of that group 95 students achieved program completion. Of the remaining 149 students enrolled in the program, 117 were female and 32 were male. Demographically, 136 students identified themselves as white, 5 of two or more races, 4 Hispanic/Latino, 2 Native American, 1 African American, and 1 Asian. While the minimum GPA requirement for entering the program is a 2.75, the median GPA of those 149 CSC students enrolled was a 3.47. Program completers had an average GPA of 3.5.

Faculty Positions at CSC

Unlike most institutions across the country, 87% of full-time faculty positions at CSC are tenure track or tenured. There are few institutions, public and non-profit private, that could match this commitment.

Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE)

The spring 2016 Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE) kicked off in April. Faculty who teach lower and upper-division undergraduate classes received email invitations from Indiana University with the subject line: Assessing Students Engagement at Chadron State College. The survey is designed to supplement the National Survey of Student Engagements (NSSE). FSSE measures how faculty members organize their time, faculty-student interactions, faculty expectations for student engagement in different educational undertakings, and the kinds of learning experiences their institutions emphasize. FSSE results are used to pinpoint areas of the undergraduate learning experiences at CSC that may deserve contemplation.

Listed below are some quick takes from the 2015 FSSE Administration.

84% of CSC faculty (n=53) believe it is important for undergraduates to participate in High- Impact Practices such as internship or field experience before they graduate.

67% of faculty indicate that at least “Some” of their courses include a service-learning component.

6.5 The average weekly class preparation time CSC faculty expect students to spend preparing for class.

2.9 Average number of hours per week that faculty believe students actually spend preparing for each class.

2.7 The number of hours lower division faculty (n=29) expect students to spend reading, compared to 3.1 hours that upper-division faculty (n=24) expects students to spend reading. 94% of faculty clearly explain course goals and requirements in their courses. More upper division faculty (96%) than lower division faculty (93%) explain course goals and requirements in their courses.

95% of upper division faculty indicate that their coursework emphasizes analyzing facts, theories, or methods to practical problems or new situations.

52% of lower division faculty believe it is important for students to prepared two or more drafts of a paper or assignment before turning it in.

Charles Snare

Charles is the Vice President of Academic Affairs. His experiences have taken him across the United States — including the Washington DC area, Ohio, Georgia, Alaska, and Nebraska. He has worked as a research assistant, a live-in counselor for juvenile delinquents, a small business salesperson, a regional manager, a tenured faculty member, a director, a dean, and a VPAA.